BusinessMirror June 23, 2019

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

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BSP chief Diokno sees stars (and figures) aligned for PHL

BEST TIME, BEST BET

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas complex (right), seen from Manila Bay in Pasay City, December 24, 2017. ARDEN PAOLO ALBERTO | DREAMSTIME.COM

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By Rea Cu

F you sense a positive whiff of anticipation on Manila’s streets these days, it may be coming from the office of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno: the man’s an indefatigable optimist.

He may also be the one referred to by Martin Luther King Jr. as one who sits in darkness, yet, Diokno sees only stars. And the monetary authority’s top official says he sees the stars are aligned for the Philippines.

“We should be happy,” Diok­no said during a forum organized by the BusinessMirror on June 7.

“And, for investors, this is the best time to bet on the Philippines.”

DIOKNO: “We should be happy.

That’s how good our economy is despite the 5.6-percent GDP in the first quarter of the year.” BERNARD

More than astrology, Diok­ no’s optimism is based on numbers. The BSP chief expressed confidence that the growth of the Philippine economy will hit at least 6 percent this year. He added that numerous factors are working together that is seen to help the government sustain the economy’s growth trajectory.

“Ganun kaganda ang economy

TESTA

Continued on A2

Putin and Xi are going soft on protest. Why?

By Leonid Bershidsky

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Bloomberg Opinion

HE apparent victory of Hong Kong protesters and a mini-thaw taking place in Russia are interesting departures from the usual practice of two regimes known to have no reverse gear. Could they have decided to learn a technique one student of authoritarianism has dubbed “contained escalation”?

The communist government of mainland China has been whittling away at Hong Kong’s Britishstyle liberties for years, and protests were routinely ignored. The so-called Umbrella Revolution of 2014—a series of protests against a plan to have candidates for the role of Hong Kong’s chief executive

screened by the mainland—resulted in the preservation of an even more restrictive electoral system.

And last April, nine of the movement’s leaders were convicted of “conspiring” and “inciting” to cause a public nuisance. Even in relatively liberal Hong Kong, the regime that crushed the Tiananmen Square

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 51.7170

IN this June 5, 2019 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchange documents during a signing ceremony following their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. AP/ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO

protests didn’t step back in the face of popular indignation.

This time it’s different—the (much more numerous) protesters have forced pro-Beijing Chief Executive Carrie Lam to shelve a bill that would allow extradition from Hong Kong to the mainland, which would have dealt a major blow to the special economic region’s judicial independence. And Lam has promised no arrests, too.

Meanwhile in Russia, personal interventions by President Vladimir Putin—after numerically weak but noisy protests— led to the release of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, who had been arrested on what seemed like trumped-up drug charges, and to the cancellation of a plan to replace a public park with a cathedral in Yekaterinburg.

On Monday, the 20-day sentence of opposition activist Leonid Volkov, who had been convicted Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4821 n UK 65.6961 n HK 6.6201 n CHINA 7.5474 n SINGAPORE 38.1422 n AUSTRALIA 35.7985 n EU 58.4040 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.7883

Source: BSP (June 21, 2019 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, June 23, 2019

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Putin and Xi are going soft on protest. Why? Continued from A1

twice for the same “offense” of calling on people to attend an unsanctioned rally, was unexpectedly and unusually commuted to eight days, and Volkov walked free.

More concessions are expected on Thursday, when Putin is scheduled to hold his marathon annual call-in show with voters. A retreat on plans to build a massive landfill in the northern Russian region of Arkhangelsk, which have led to violent clashes between locals and police, could be on the cards.

The differences between the Chinese and Russian situations are obvious: In Hong Kong, the protests and the concession have been much bigger. But the similarity of the authoritarian regimes’ retreating when they didn’t really have to —both have ample capacity for repression, and they could have stood their ground—is more intriguing.

Surely both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping know that liberalization can be a slippery slope. In a 2017 paper, political scientist Daniel Treisman from the University of California in Los Angeles, who had studied all cases of democratization between 1800 and 2015, named it among the most common fatal mistakes dictators make.

They initiated limited reform thinking it would help stabilize the regime, but then lost control.

Putin saw close up how it works: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s attempt to loosen the screws helped lead to the end of the communist regime.

Other mistakes Treisman

mentioned included overestimating popular support and “overrepressing.”

Any regime depends to some extent on popular support, and it’s extremely difficult to get the balance of repression and concession just right. Escalation and propaganda usually do the job for authoritarian rulers—until they’re about to fall. That’s why there are so few successful examples of illiberal regimes’ juggling escalation and concession. These examples exist, however.

In 2014, Dana Moss from the University of California, Irvine, described the case of Jordan, the Middle Eastern kingdom that managed to avoid a revolution during the Arab Spring.

The regime—which had used the same array of repressive tactics as Russia and China against pro-democracy activists—started compromising with those who appeared to make manageable demands, while unleashing harsh reprisals against those who uncompromisingly demanded a revolution. Moss wrote:

The Arab Spring (at least temporarily) reduced some routine forms of repression and compelled the regime to accommodate public protest so long as it did not invoke the familiar methods or refrains of neighboring revolution—e.g., mass sit-ins and slogans calling for the fall of the regime. While increases in harsh repression have temporarily sparked calls for the fall of the regime on the street since 2011, as long as the regime prioritizes social stability over retaining power at all costs—the latter approach exem-

Hong Kong remains firmly under Beijing’s control, and if protesters give any indication they’re working to end that, there probably will be a forceful response.

In Russia, neither Golunov’s arrest nor the construction of the church was a matter of principle for Putin, and intervention only helped him win popularity points; but when activists continued protesting against unfair arrests after Golunov’s release, about 500 people were detained in Moscow.

The Russian and the Chinese regimes have plenty of time and resources to build their versions of the Jordanian model, in which the activists end up realizing they can get the rulers’ favorable attention if they make small demands and show willingness to negotiate, while demanding more will get them beaten up and thrown behind bars. The regimes will learn as they go; activists should as well.

IN this June 16, 2019, photo, protesters gather on a main road near the Legislative Council as they continue their protest against the unpopular extradition bill in Hong Kong. AP/KIN CHEUNG

plified by the autocratic regimes of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad—harsher repression will be used sparingly.

This dynamic of “contained escalation,” as Moss called it, is likely what we’re seeing in both Russia and China. Putin clearly feels he needs to tread carefully because he no longer enjoys 80 percent approval ratings and because Russians appear to be tired of foreign military adventures as the same old problems fester at home. Xi, for his part, doesn’t need domestic instability during a ruthless trade war with the US. Both appear to be willing to concede some noncritical ground.

Even without the extradition law,

Best time, best bet Continued from A1

natin [That’s how good our economy is] despite the 5.6-percent gross domestic product growth (GDP) in the first quarter of the year,” Diokno said describing the first-quarter GDP figure as a “fluke.”

“We will hit at least 6 percent for the entire year,” he said.

“In fact, the World Bank did not change their forecast of 6.4 percent [GDP growth] for this year.”

Swinging in favor

DIOKNO explained that numerous factors are swinging in favor of the economy, including mute inflation, low interest rates, expanding opportunities for local and overseas employment, and further adapting technological innovations to make payment and transactions more efficient and convenient.

He also took note that growth is being felt and seen outside Metro Manila.

“That’s how good the economy is” despite the perceived growth slowdown.

Diokno believes the Philippines remains an attractive market to foreign investors as it is one of the fastest-growing countries in Asia and in the world. Thus, a dozen foreign banks have expressed interest in setting up shop in the country, including those from Taiwan, South Korea, as well as from Europe, among others.

“Right now, there are I think 12 [foreign] banks that came in.

There’s a lot of interest.”

The central bank chief explained the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) infrastructure program is one reason why foreign banks are becoming part of the equation.

“We have embarked on our BBB program, so those who want to participate in terms of the construction of projects here, they would also need their own banks.”

Philippines overseas

INVERSELY, local banks are showing interest to establish their presence in different parts of the world, according to the BSP chief.

“It’s still exploratory. But I was surprised that there are a lot of branches [of local banks] abroad; have a presence in the United States,” Diokno said citing the Philippine National Bank as actively planning to expand overseas.

He explained it is more strategic for banks to establish their presence in cities or countries wherein a number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are present or where there is a well-grounded Filipino community in the area.

In line with providing a banking institution for OFWs, the Philippine government has opened the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB), which Diokno said is seen to expand in other countries soon.

Last January, the Department of Finance (DOF) asked the assis-

tance of the International Finance Corp. (IFC) in line with applying financial technologies (fintech) in the further development of the OFB. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III asked the assistance of the IFC in implementing the government’s plan to apply fintech in organizing the Philippines’ first OFB that caters to its citizens overseas. The plan is to convert the OFB into a fully digital bank using mobile technologies rather than having physical branches to serve its clients.

Financial inclusion

DOMINGUEZ underscored the need to put in place a liberal regulatory environment to enable fintech firms, which are expected to help Filipinos ride the digital wave in the financial sector.

Dominguez said new fintech companies are crucial for the government to achieve President Duterte’s goal of financial inclusion.

The BSP’s 2017 Financial Inclusion Survey showed that only 22.6 percent of the total adult population in the country, or about 15.8 million Filipinos, have bank accounts, leaving the majority of 52.8 million unbanked.

IFC Chief Executive Officer Philippe Le Houérou earlier assured Dominguez the institution will support the government’s efforts in attaining financial inclusion through the use of digital technologies.

Duterte led the inauguration of the OFB at the Postbank Center in Manila in January last year.

The DOF chief has noted that around 10 million OFWs could be the initial beneficiaries of the technological leapfrog envisioned for the OFB, which aims to transform the way Filipinos buy, receive, sell and distribute goods and services.

The DOF also said that it is discussing the possibility of tapping Alibaba Group’s fintech solutions through its related company Ant Financial, to lower remittance costs for the Philippines’ migrant workers and offer them other online-based banking and financial management services.

OFWs, remittances

DIOKNO said another factor boosting growth is the overseas jobs market where opportunities for Filipino job-seekers are wide and aplenty. According to the BSP chief, as more foreign countries look at the Philippines to service their labor requirements, this translates to growth in remittances.

“In fact, there are two major developments for OFWs. One is China [which] is asking for Filipinos to work abroad to service the expats; and number two is the opening up of labor by Japan.”

Diokno said Japan is opening up 350,000 jobs to foreigners.

“They have long resisted it but Japan[’s population] is aging so they have no choice. To me, my

own guess is about one third of the 350,000 will be Filipinos. I’m sure.

[They would be] nurses, healthcare workers and factory workers,” Diok­no said.

In terms of remittances, he admitted that the growth in the total cash sent by OFWs has been slowing down. Still, remittances are increasing.

“It’s increasing at a lower rate but it’s still increasing,” Diokno said. “So there’s no fear that OFW remittances will shrink.”

The BSP chief added that in his own prognosis, remittances will increase “because the quality of the OFW will increase in the years to come.”

“Right now, I think it will continue to grow, plus the pay of OFWs also increases.”

The BSP in May reported that OFW remittances continued to rise during the first quarter of this year, recording a 6.6-percent increase as of March.

Total remittances to the country in the first three months of the year in terms of monetary value hit $7.3 billion, up from last year’s $7 billion.

Hefty GIR

THE $30 billion Diokno expects from OFWs this year would help further boost the country’s gross international reserves (GIR).

As of end-May, the country’s GIR is already at $85 billion.

On an annual basis we can expect at least $30 billion from OFWs and another $30 billion from the business-process outsourcing industry, he said.

The BSP chief explained this “hefty” GIR also allows the peso to have an elbow room to move and for the central bank to step back for the market.

“Our policy is we do not participate unless we want to, unless the exchange rate is noisy; we want to keep it a little bit stable,” Diokno said. “The peso is actually pretty stable right now. We have not been participating in the market; we just let it see its own level. Fortunately for us we have hefty GIR.” The GIR level is also boosted by foreign direct investments (FDI) that Diokno said averaged at $10 billion in the last two years compared to prior year averages of between $3 billion and 4 billion.

“And we have a dynamic tourism now. We are attracting a lot of tourists,” he added, without citing tourism receipt figures.

Saying monetary authorities are “very comfortable” with the local tender’s strength reveals Diokno’s confidence and belief that the Philippines would not only look at the alignment of stars but also become one of them in the near future.

Maybe it is time, indeed, to wear shades, as American postpunk band Timbuk3 recommended in 1986, since the country’s future appears so bright—especially viewed from the BSP complex in Malate.

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The World BusinessMirror

Chinese crackdown on foreign sounding names draws protest

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EIJING —T he Manhattan neighborhood, Venice Garden, the Vienna hotel chain—to the ears of the Chinese government, the names are too foreign-sounding and must go.

Provinces and cities across China have been issuing notices pressuring both private and public officials to rename businesses, bridges and neighborhoods, reflecting renewed efforts by President Xi Jinping’s government to “sinicize” China.

The move came to light after Vienna Hotels, which according to its website operates 2,500 properties in China, fought back on social media this week, and other users jumped in to ridicule the move.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs confirmed Friday that the campaign is underway, but said that some local governments are not implementing the new rule accurately. It maintained though that foreign names have an ugly social influence that needs to be cleaned up.

The post on the ministry’s website added that along with foreign names, names that are “weird, repetitive, or self-aggrandizing” should also be changed.

Local governments, from Inner Mongolia in the north to Hainan

island off the southern coast, have been sending out instructions urging the change.

Last week, the Civil Affairs Department in Hainan posted on its official website a list of 84 names of hotels, neighborhoods, cinemas, roads and bridges in 10 cities, three counties and one economic development zone. It said the names need to be cleaned up for several reasons, most of which had to do with “worshipping of and having blind faith in foreign things.”

Fifteen of the 84 names are hotels run by the Vienna Hotel Group. Vienna Hotels, in a post Tuesday on Weibo—a Twitter-like app and website in China—said it had complained to the Hainan Civil Affairs Department and is awaiting a response. Its brand is registered with the national trademark bureau from 2012 to 2022, the post said.

Comments on Chinese social media generally poured scorn on the campaign, with users comparing it to North Korea.

“This is improper, they did too much, it violates the rights of having a name freely,”said Chen Xiaoyang, a project operator in a technology company based in Beijing. AP

Sunday, June 23, 2019

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Pentagon is without chief as US faces global threats

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ASHINGTON­—It’s a difficult time for the Pentagon to be without a permanent US defense secretary.

The Trump administration is grappling with an escalating crisis with Iran, an unusual and controversial deployment of troops to the US-Mexico border, the nearly twodecade-old war in Afghanistan and stalled talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.

Amid all that, and more, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan stepped down this week and the man tapped to replace him on an interim basis appears to face legal hurdles that could initially prevent him from serving more than about six more weeks. It’s an unusual level of uncertainty for one of the most important jobs in the administration.

“This is a very difficult time.

With everything going on in Iran and all the provocations and counteractions, and to have no Secretary

of Defense at this time is appalling,” said Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. “It shows the chaos in this administration. They have so many empty positions, revolving doors, in the most sensitive of security positions.”

Shanahan and his planned replacement, A r my Secretar y Mark Esper, have been attendi ng W h ite Hou se a nd ot he r meetings, including sessions to debate how the militar y should respond to Iran’s shoot-down of an American drone.

Esper is slated to take over as acting defense secretary at midnight on Sunday, and then head out Tuesday to a meeting of NATO defense ministers. There it will be critical for Esper to convince allies that he is now in charge, and that the US national

THIS Thursday, June 20, 2019, photo shows a Vienna International Hotel in Sanya city in southern China’s Hainan province. The hotel chain is amongst 84 names listed by the Civil Affairs Department in Hainan whose names are in need to be “cleaned up” due to various reasons including “worship and have blind faith in foreign things.” China is cracking down on “foreign” names under a new campaign, stirring controversy amid a government-backed tide of rising nationalistic sentiment. CHINATOPIX VIA AP

security leadership is stable and able to make decisions when faced with escalating threats from Iran, amid questions from a wary Congress.

Meanwhile, inside the Pentagon, lawyers are debating how to get Esper through what will be a difficult legal and Congressional confirmation process. Defense officials said Thursday that so far they don’t yet have a clear way forward.

The key problem is that Trump never formally nominated Shanahan for the defense job. He announced his intention to do so, but as the months went on it never happened, and officials repeatedly said the vetting was dragging on. On Monday, Shanahan stepped down saying he wanted to spare his family as details of domestic problems linked to his messy divorce nearly a decade ago became public. AP

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Sunday, June 23, 2019

The World BusinessMirror

US-registered planes barred over Mideast amid tensions

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UBAI, United Arab Emirates— The US on Friday barred American-registered aircraft from flying over Iranian-administered airspace in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman over the Revolutionary Guard shooting down a US military surveillance drone, affecting a region crucial to global air travel.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of a “potential for miscalculation or misidentification” in the region after an Iranian surface-to-air missile on Thursday brought down a US Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk, an unmanned aircraft with a wingspan larger than a Boeing 737 jetliner and costing over $100 million. The US said it made plans for limited strikes on Iran in response, but then called them off.

The FAA previously warned of a risk in the region, but Friday’s warning threw into stark relief a danger both it and analysts warned was real after the shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines flight over Ukraine in 2014. That could further imperil the bottom lines of Gulf long-haul carriers, which already have faced challenges under the Trump administration.

“The threat of a civil aircraft shoot-down in southern Iran is real,” warned OPSGROUP, a company that provides guidance to global airlines.

The FAA made a similar warning in May to commercial airliners of the possibility of Iranian antiaircraft gunners mistaking them for military aircraft, something dismissed by Tehran some 30 years after the US Navy shot down an Iranian passenger jet.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the US announcement.

The FAA said its warning would affect the area of the Tehran Flight Information Region, without elaborating. The FAA’s operations center referred questions to its press office, which did not immediately respond to queries from The Associated Press. However, that likely only extends some 12 miles off of the Iranian coast, aviation experts said.

There are “heightened militar y activ ities and increased political tensions in the region,

which present an inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations and potential for miscalculation or misidentification,” the FA A said.

“The risk to US civil aviation is demonstrated by the Iranian surface-to-air missile shoot-down of a US unmanned aircraft system on 19 June 2019 while it was operating in the vicinity of civil air routes above the Gulf of Oman.”

The Persian Gulf is home to some of the world’s top long-haul carriers, who already have been battered by Trump’s travel bans targeting a group of predominantly Muslim countries, as well as an earlier ban on laptops in airplane cabins for Mideast carriers. The major carriers, Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways, as well as lowcost carriers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Iran said the drone “violated” its territorial airspace, while the US called the missile fire “an unprovoked attack ” in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. OPSGROUP said the Iranian weapons system that shot down the drone was comparable to the Russian Buk system used in 2014 Malaysian Airlines shootdown in Ukraine.

“Any error in that system could cause it to find another target nearby­— another reason not to be anywhere near this part of the Straits of Hormuz,” OPSGROUP said.

President Donald J. Trump initially tweeted that “Iran made a very big mistake!” He later appeared to play down the incident, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he had a feeling “a general or somebody” being “loose and stupid” made a mistake in shooting down the drone.

A US official said the military made preparations Thursday night for limited strikes on Iran in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, but approval was abruptly withdrawn before the attacks were launched.

The official, who was not authorized to discuss the operation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the targets would have included radars and missile batteries.

The New York Times reported

that President Donald J. Trump had approved the strikes, but then called them off. The newspaper cited anonymous senior administration officials.

The White House on Thursday night declined requests for information about whether Trump changed his mind.

T he i nc ident i m med i ate ly heightened the crisis already gripping the wider region, which is rooted in Trump withdrawing the US a year ago from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal and imposing crippling new sanctions on Tehran. Recently, Iran quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium to be on pace to break one of the deal’s terms by next week while threatening to raise enrichment closer to weaponsgrade levels on July 7 if Europe doesn’t offer it a new deal.

Citing unspecified Iranian threats, the US has sent an aircraft carrier to the Middle East and deployed additional troops alongside the tens of thousands already there. All this has raised fears that a miscalculation or further rise in tensions could push the U.S. and Iran into an open conflict, 40 years after Tehran’s Islamic Revolution.

“We do not have any intention for war with any country, but we are fully ready for war,” Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Hossein Salami said in a televised address Thursday. AP

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Trade war a serious concern for Thailand, Prayuth says

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HE US-China trade war is a serious concern for Thailand that has the potential to undermine global business, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said. “ We have to allev iate this tension and create a greater balance,” Prayuth said in a speech at the Bloomberg Asean Business Summit in Bangkok on Friday. The trade dispute had led to “greater uncertainty in the global economic situation and greater competition,” he said, noting Thailand was trying to expedite the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade agreement.

“Even though the economy appears to slow down, the Thai economy still has good fundamentals for future growth,” Prayuth said. “The government will continue with the focus on infrastructure projects, investments in key industrial zones and support for the agricultural sector.”

Referencing t he contested March 24 election that saw him w in a second term in office, Prayuth said: “I can assure the private sector that Asean and Thailand are ready.”

Lawmakers backed Prayuth to return as premier in a parliamentary vote held more than two months after a disputed general election in March. The former army chief seized power in a coup in 2014 after a period of unrest, ushering in one of Thailand ’s longest spells under a junta until this year’s vote.

He now lead s a sprawl ing 19-party, pro-military coalition with only a slim majority in the elected lower house, leading to speculation his administration may strug gle to complete its four-year term.

An opposition bloc that’s fiercely critical of what it sees as the continuation of military rule controls almost half the lower house, raising the possibility of friction that could hamper policy making.

Prayuth was elected prime minister in a joint vote of the elected lower chamber and juntaappointed Senate.

His return marks a victory for the militar y and royalist elite in Bangkok, who have used the courts or coups to overturn election results for more than a decade to prevent exiled former Pr ime Minister T haksin Shinawatra or his allies from retaining power.

T he incoming ad minist ration faces the weakest economic growth since 2014 as exports, investment and tourism fizzle.

Prayuth has prioritized infrastructure and technological upgrades, as well as removing red tape, to bolster the outlook for Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.

Some m ajor projects were slowed by the delay in government formation after the March election. Pray uth ’s choice of Cabinet ministers needs endorsement by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and key policies are expected to be unveiled by July.

Thailand is the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year and hosting the 34th summit of the 10-nation bloc’s leaders through Sunday.

T he gover n me nt h a s s a id Thailand will use its position as Asean chair to push for the finalization of the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade pact—which is backed by China—before the end of 2019. Bloomberg News

Witness in Navy SEAL trial takes blame for 2017 killing of young IS fighter in Iraq

S IN this October 24, 2018, photo released by the US Air Force, members of the 7th Reconnaissance Squadron prepare to launch an RQ-4 Global Hawk at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a US RQ-4 Global Hawk on Thursday, June 20, 2019, amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over its collapsing nuclear deal with world powers, American and Iranian officials said, though they disputed the circumstances of the incident. STAFF SGT. RAMON A. ADELAN/US AIR FORCE VIA AP

Philip Morris has a Nespresso problem HILIP Morris International Inc. (PMI) is girding itself to fend off rivals that may try to piggyback on the success of its market-leading alternative to smoking.

As PMI’s IQOS has grown, competitors such as Imperial Brands Plc have started offering sticks that can fit in the electronic devices that heat rather than burn tobacco, even though the packs say they’re designed only for the UK company’s Pulze system. In response, the Marlboro maker is preparing the next version of IQOS, which will work only with the company’s own heatsticks, according to Chief Operating Officer Jacek Olczak.

“We’re working on heatstick-recognition technology,” Olczak said in an exclusive phone interview, without providing a timetable. “Only our stick will activate the device.”

As cigarette use declines in developed markets, companies are racing to develop next-generation

Editor: Angel R. Calso

products to fuel growth. By linking tobacco products to delivery mechanisms, they could be opening themselves to intellectual property tussles like those Nestle SA faced over its Nespresso system. The success of the coffee brand, which uses capsules that work only in specially designed machines, bred a flurry of copycat pods when the Swiss company’s patent protection expired.

Imperial was the last major international tobacco maker to enter the heat-not-burn field, lagging behind Philip Morris and British American Tobacco Plc. It has now started selling such a device in one city in Japan, the most developed market for the non-combustible tobacco devices.

While Imperial says its socalled iD sticks are made exclusively for Pulze, some retailers, including a third-party merchant on Japanese e-commerce platform Rakuten, mention that they’re the same size as those sold by market leader IQOS. With sales currently

limited to Fukuoka in western Japan, some analysts say Imperial should fast-track the sticks into the broader market.

Playing Catch-Up

“SINCE Imperial is late to the game, it is important for it to find ways to play catch up,” Nico von Stackelberg, an analyst at Liberum, wrote in a note dated June 13. “Imperial could get a lot of earnings growth simply by getting iD sticks on-shelf next to the IQOS heat sticks and by educating retailers that iD sticks can be used with other devices.”

That may set up the industry for even fiercer competition and potential intellectual-property squabbles. PMI’s legal teams are reviewing Imperial’s products, Olczak said. Imperial Brands said it’s “confident” its products don’t use any “valid patented thirdparty technology.”

The company also said it’s

considering expanding sales of Pulze and iD across Japan.

Imperial isn’t the only intellectual property issue IQOS faces. Philip Morris has sued BAT in Japan for alleged patent infringement in its Glo heat-not-burn tobacco device.

And a search for “IQOS compatible” on Amazon.com Inc.’s Japanese site produces 601 results showing a slew of imitation devices.

A spokeswoman for BAT said the case is likely to take some time to resolve, declining to comment further. Philip Morris expects a decision from the court of first instance next year, according to a spokesman.

PMI has been running clinical tests to determine whether IQOS poses lower health risks than traditional cigarettes. The company argues IQOS’s benefits are achievable only if it’s used as a closed system, in which it retains control over factors like temperature control and the ingredient mix.

Bloomberg News

AN DIEGO—When the prosecution called a special forces medic to testify, they expected him to bolster their murder case against a decorated Navy SEAL accused of stabbing an Islamic State (IS) fighter in his care.

Corey Scott delivered on that count, saying Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher had unexpectedly plunged a knife into the adolescent detainee after treating his wounds in 2017 in Iraq.

But the government was stunned with what came next: Scott took the blame for the killing, saying he had suffocated the boy shortly after Gallagher had stabbed him. Scott called the asphyxiation an act of mercy.

It was a stunning twist in an already tumultuous case that illustrates the challenges of prosecuting war crimes cases, especially those involving members of the secretive special forces, and the risks of granting immunity.

Scott wanted to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when called by the prosecution. But he was granted immunity and ordered to testify.

“You’re assuming a certain amount of risk that you know what they’re going to say and that what they’re going to say is truthful,” said Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Altenburg Jr., who handled or oversaw about 1,000 military trials. “If you get surprised, you get surprised.

That’s what can happen when you have cases like this.”

A visibly angry prosecutor accused Scott of lying, saying he had told investigators a different story several times and changed it only after he was granted immunity and ordered to testify.

“So you can stand up there and you can lie about how you killed the ISIS prisoner so Chief Gallagher does not have to go to jail,” John said. “You don’t want Chief Gallagher to go to jail, do you?”

“He’s got a wife and family,” Scott said. “I don’t think he should be spending his life in prison.”

The testimony is the latest setback for prosecutors and a big boost for Gallagher, who is fighting charges of premeditated murder in the boy’s death and attempted murder in the shooting of civilians.

The defense has said Gallagher only treated the prisoner for a collapsed lung and that disgruntled sailors fabricated the murder accusations because he was a demanding leader and they didn’t want him promoted.

When asked if Scott’s testimony, which did not dispute that Gallagher stabbed the militant in his care, would mean a lesser charge of premeditated attempted murder for the special operator, defense attorney Tim Parlatore said it only proved one thing: “It means he’s not guilty,” he said.

Gallagher’s wife said she was relieved to have the truth come out. AP

Faith Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph

Sunday

Sunday, June 23, 2019 A5

SAINT PIO OF PIETRELCINA, STIGMATIST AND MYSTIC PREPARING FOR COMMUNION SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST: ‘LUKE 9:11-17’

By Corazon Damo-Santiago

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AINT Catherine of Ricci, a stigmatic, unfolds the Passion of Christ in 17 scenes that lasts 28 hours, “conversed aloud as if enacting a drama.”

After her ecstatic experience of the passion, her body is covered with wounds. This was described in her bull of canonization.

Stigma is derived from a Greek word, meaning tattoo or mark. In Christian mysticism it refers to bodily wounds, scars or pains like the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. The marks are visible on the head, chest and especially on the hands and feet.

Stigmatization can occur anytime, appear or disappear intermittently. The wounds can also be invisible but the recipient knows they are there because of the pain.

Mystical phenomenon

IN Saints Catholic Blogosphere, it is said that the blood flow could not be induced psychosomatically. Neither can it be stopped by medical care. Fresh blood flows freely against the laws of gravity. Since the blood seeping from stigmatics is the blood of Christ, there can be two types of blood in a wound. The blood oozes in different quantities and length of time.

Most stigmatics are mystics with a poignant faith to share in God’s suffering.

In his book, Hospitality and Pain, theologian Ivan Illick describes the experience as “Compassion with Christ...faith so strong, so deeply incarnate that it leads to individual embodiment of contemplated pain.”

Saint Francis of Assisi is acknowledged by the Catholic Church as the first stigmatist. He received it on September 14, 1224, while on a 40-day fast in Mount La Verna.

A crucified angel approached him while he was praying. While he was pondering on the meaning of the vision, he saw marks of heads of nails appearing on his wrists and upper sides of his feet. He felt his right side pierced by a spear.

There are 330 stigmatized persons listed by Encyclopedia Britannica (IX, 570), 60 of them were declared saints or blessed.

According to Catholic Doctrine, there is “no intrinsic connection between sanctity and stigmatization. God can grant charisms, such as stigmata to any person, even one in a state of mortal sin or outside the Church.”

However “there is not a single experimental proof that imagination could produce them especially in violent forms” (Mystical Stigmata, Kevin Knight, 2017).

The most painful of the wounds inflicted during the passion are Christ’s wounds on His right shoulder, He revealed this to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.

Available Christian literature on stigmatics revealed that only Father Pio of Pietrelcina had shoulder wounds.

It was only Pope John Paul II who knew about it, as revealed by Stefano Campanella in Pope and the Friar.

Brother Modesto, who was in charge of Father Pio’s vestments, said Pio was in great pain every time he changed his undershirt. The brother, immediately after Pio’s death, saw traces of a “circular hematoma” on his right shoulder.

Pain at its best

STIGMATIZATION is one of the most documented phenomena in the history of the Church. It is painful, so when someone asked Father Pio if it is painful, he answered: “Do you think the Lord gave them to me as decoration?”

Stigmatics describe the pain as physically and morally painful but they can bear with it “due to the intervention of an intelligent and free cause acting on the stigmatics.”

Although stigmatics realize that suffering is at its best others, comment negatively on the experience.

Saint Gemma Galgani “actually passed out due to overwhelming pain of the wounds.”

“I felt as if I was about to die,” she muttered.

The stigmata can occur and disappear anytime.

However, most stigmatics suffer the pain of stigmatization on Thursday at 3 p.m. until Friday at 4 p.m.

In a letter to his spiritual director, Father Pio wrote: “The wound is so painful that it is enough to cause 1,001 deaths. Oh my God, why don’t I die? Please forgive me, Father, I am beside myself and I don’t know what I am saying. So much pain causes me to be frantic much against my will.”

An invisible stigmata is more painful, according to doctors. When the wound bleeds, in a visible stigmata, pain is lessened, so too when it is bandaged.

Saint Catherine of Sienna, Saint Clare of Montefalco and Saint Catherine de Ricci, a Florentine Dominican, requested God in humility to hide the wounds without taking away the pains.

God responded to their requests. However, at death, Saint Catherine de Sienna’s wounds

appeared. So too, the stigmata of Saint Clare de Montefalco.

Father Pio also begged Jesus to take away the physical signs. In Padre Pio: Man of Hope, Renzo Allegri noted how Pio begged for it.

“Let me suffer and let me die from suffering.

But take away these signs that cause me so much embarrassment.” Jesus answered: “You will bear them for 50 years, and then you will see me.”

Flash views

THE search for proofs that stigmata can be caused by sickness and induced by imagination and auto suggestion continues. Even if stigmata means a “divine malady that ends only in death,” according to Dr. Imbert, stigmatas continue to fascinate believers and unbelievers alike, including the Vatican.

L’Osservatore Romano, on July 5, 1923, published that “Father Pio’s stigmata were unrelated to the wounds of Christ.”

The decree did not only give “credence about Father Pio as a poor, sick man or a hoax.” Too, the “whole congregation became the butt of jokes.”

Vatican was proven wrong. The humble and obedient Capuchin Franciscan was canonized on June 16, 2002.

Considered as one of the most notable stigmatic of the 20th century, Saint Fr. Pio of Pietrelcina, OFM Cap., is also incorruptible.

Damo-Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

MSGR. JOSEFINO S. RAMIREZ SUNDAY GOSPEL IN OUR LIFE

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HE gospel reading for today’s Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is about the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes performed by Christ, in order to feed more than 5,000 people who had somehow forgotten their material needs in order to listen to the teachings of Christ.

Christian tradition has always interpreted this as a kind of prefiguration of the Holy Eucharist, which Christ instituted in order to nourish His followers spirituality.

The Holy Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ. Even if the appearances of bread and wine continue, we believe that the reality behind these appearances is Christ.

This happens through the “transubstantiation”—there is a change of the substance of the bread and wine into the substance of the body and blood of Christ. This is made possible by the almighty power of God and His expressed will, when He instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist.

The Eucharist was instituted by Christ in order to be our spiritual nourishment. Since we are not pure spirits but a composite of matter and spirit, even the highest spiritual realities have to reach us through physical realities.

Love always seek union. When we love someone, we try to be close to that person. Our love for Jesus Christ seeks a physical closeness with Him, and this is possible on Earth through the sacrament of the Eucharist.

How do we receive Our Lord in communion?

We must receive communion with true devotion.

The first requirement for this is that we receive communion in the state of grace. To receive communion while being at enmity with God because of mortal sin would be a great disrespect for Him. It is also a great deception because communion is supposed to be a sign of friendship and union with God, and this is not compatible with a state of mortal sin. That is why the Church has always taught that if someone were to be conscious of mortal sin, he should first be reconciled with God through the sacrament of penance, before he may receive communion.

Furthermore, we should receive communion with faith and fervor, and not merely out of routine and convention. To receive communion with faith, we can make acts of faith in the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

To receive communion with fervor, we must desire to be truly united to Him. Some people receive communion merely to be seen by other people, and to be taken for a decent and good person. So instead of getting closer to God, they offend Him even more, and they end up fooling no one else but themselves.

Today’s solemnity is a good occasion to renew our faith in the Blessed Sacrament and to prepare ourselves well for that intimate and physical meeting with Our Lord, who is present in the Blessed Sacrament to be our spiritual nourishment.

Science

Sunday

BusinessMirror

A6 Sunday, June 23, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

DOST turns over Hybrid Electric Train to PNR

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UNE 20, 2019, will forever be marked in Philippine history as the day when its very own locally designed and developed Hybrid Electric Train (HET)—by the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Metals Industry Research and Development Center—was turned over to its adopter, the Philippine National Railways (PNR).

The turnover was led by Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña and PNR Operations Manager Joseline A. Geronimo at the PNR Alabang Station.

After thousands of kilometers and total running hours tested HET’s reliability, availability, maintainability and safety, it successfully passed all stages of testing required by the PNR. The next stage: acceptance.

The PNR now assumes ownership of the HET, and expressed gratitude to the DOST for the donation.

The HET will be used very soon to serve commuters.

This is definitely good news to all our train riders using the Calamba-Alabang route.

DOST-MIRDC

Water hyacinth: Bane or boon?

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

ITH the onset of the rainy season, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) is anticipating anew the proliferation of water hyacinth, an invasive alien plant species, which usually covers the surface of large water bodies like the Laguna de Bay and Pasig River.

A free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical and subtropical South America, water hyacinth is considered a pesky plant, especially because of its broad, thick, glossy ovate leaves that sometimes rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter.

As the plant has now started to spread across the Pasig River all the way from Laguna de Bay, also known as Laguna Lake, the feeling of anxiety persists.

The penetration of water hyacinth into Pasig River is an indication that the water level in Laguna Lake is getting higher than Manila Bay’s mean sea level (MSL).

This is expected because the Pasig River is a tidal estuary, which means that the flow of its direction depends on the water level difference between Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay. During the dry season, the water level in Laguna de Bay, the country’s largest freshwater lake is low, with the river’s flow direction dependent on the tides.

B ut come Ju ne , w it h t he onset of the wet season, when the water level of Lag una de Bay r ises, the f low is reversed toward Manila Bay.

Algal bloom

AT the same time, besides water hyacinth infestation, the natural beauty of Laguna de Bay, has been marred lately by algal bloom—a rapid increase in the algae population in freshwater systems.

There are two telltale signs of an algal bloom gone wild: one, the discoloration of the water from their pigments, turning it to mossy green; and two, the foul odor wafting from the lake, reaching as far as the posh, gated villages in Barangay Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

The city of Muntinlupa has released a health advisory: The presence of “liya” in Laguna de Bay is a natural part of the aquatic ecosystem and is not a threat to public health.

Wilfredo Pereyra, Lake Guard of the Muntinlupa Lake Management Office (MLMO) in Barangay

Bayanan, said they hope the southwest monsoon will come soon so the rains can sweep away the algal bloom that has been dried up by the long summer.

Wilfredo and his team from MLMO take turns cleaning their side of the lake of water hyacinth and other garbage covered with dried green algae.

He said the right amount of algae can serve as food for the fish.

He said: “The liya does not affect the taste of the fish, it remains fresh. Look, we’re having it for lunch now.”

Still, some fishermen in the area would rather harvest their fish early, to avoid a fishkill.

Prices of fish have gone down as people become more picky with buying it.

Fish vendor Imelda Eborda said the price of fish she sells has gone down because of the smell.

“Some people are afraid to buy fish because they worry it might have a bad taste,” she said.

The result of that caution: before, people usually buy 5 kilograms of tilapia in one trip to the fish market. Now, they buy only 1 kg.

Residents in the area also hope the rains would come soon—to wash away not only the algal bloom, but the worries of the vendors and fishermen, as well.

Managing water hyacinths

TO address the problems brought about by the proliferation of water hyacinth in the Pasig River, the

PRRC has reactivated its special task force and issued a statement allaying fears brought about by the creeping of the water hyacinth all over the Pasig River.

“We would like to educate the public that water hyacinth is a blessing from God. We use them in removing heavy metals from the Pasig River and its tributaries,” PRRC Executive Director Jose Antonio “Pepeton” E. Goitia said in a statement.

According to Goitia, water hyacinth can be managed, and in fact, provide livelihood opportunities for communities near Pasig River.

Its stems are used as raw materials for handloom weaving livelihood program of the PRRC. “We use them [water hyacinths] as raw materials in our handloom weaving livelihood program. We help poor families in Baseco [Bataan Shipping and Engineering Co. in Manila’s Port Area] convert water hyacinth into table runners, fans, slippers and bracelets,” he added.

In fact, the PRRC is more concerned of the huge volume of garbage flowing into the Pasig River from Manila Bay says Goitia.

Harvesting

ALYSSA CHRIZELLE N. MICLAT, PRRC’s information officer III, said since the task force’s revival on June 1, monitoring and harvesting of the invasive plant in Pasig River has began.

Good quality plants that will be harvested will be brought to Baseco for processing, while those that are of poor quality will be properly disposed of, she said.

Miclat also said she suggested to do an accounting of daily harvest as a step in building a data base.

In the past two months that the lake level in Laguna fell below the MSL, PRRC has hurdled controlling, not the intrusion of the seawater, but the backflow of more than 300,000 kilograms of garbage from Manila Bay. This, Miclat said, is because harvesting goes on daily.

PRRC is a government agency conferred by the International River Foundation with the Inaugural Asia River Prize, the highest award for river restoration efforts in the Asia Pacific.

THE Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission river warriors remove heavy metals and other solid waste suspended in the water hyacinth floating wetland, a phytoremediation system to improve the water quality of Estero de Binondo. PRRC PHOTO

Invasive alien species

WATER hyacinth infestation of water bodies is dreaded not only in the Philippines but in other Southeast Asian countries, said Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim. “Since it is not native in Asean, its invasiveness is also creating problems in other natural water bodies in the region, such as in the Mekong river,” Lim said.

“Water hyacinth is not a native species. It was introduced in the Philippines. Originally, it can be seen in Brazil and other countries in South America,” said Lim, a former director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’s Biodiversity Management Bureau.

“It is an invasive alien species in the Philippines. Ideally speaking, it should have no advantage to the natural ecosytems in the Philippines. But the condition of our waterways is no longer the same as it was, say, a hundred years ago,” she said.

According to Lim, water hyacinth can filter impurities in the water so they can be useful in helping cleanup polluted waterways.

However, Lim cautioned that water hyacinth can be a pollutant and pest plant, with all the dirt and toxins it absorbs plus its ability to over grow and clog tributaries and water inlets and outlets, ways should be found to manage them.

Hence, Lim said other uses of water hyacinth should be explored and be promoted so that there is a motivation for its harvesting to control its growth.

She said the same strategy being adopted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to control knife and janitor fish populations in Laguna de Bay might work—such as for raw materials for handicrafts, like bags and slippers.

According to Lim, what makes the plant pesky is that they compete with other natural freshwater vegetation, and if it starts covering the entire surface of the body of water, it can choke out the oxygen, which means bad news for the fish and other aquatic life. With a report by Nonie Reyes

ABOUT 130 parents, children, students and youth took a peek at the moon through a telescope during the “One Starry Night: Meet EUr Astronomers” held by the European Delegation to the Philippines at a mall in Taguig City. E.U. DELEGATION IN MANILA

MOON DAZZLES PUBLIC IN E.U.HOSTED ASTRONOMY EVENT

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OZENS were enthralled with a closer view of the moon as the European Union (EU) delegation capped its first public telescope-viewing event in Manila recently.

The star- and moon-gazing event “One Starry Night: Meet Eur Astronomers”was in cooperation with SM, the Philippine Astronomical Society and the Manila Street Astronomers.

It was part of the Viva Europa 2019 cultural showcase to celebrate EU-Philippine friendship.

Jerome Riviere, the first secretary to the EU delegation in Manila, said the event was inspired by the EU’s Copernicus Earth’s observation program.

“The Copernicus program is designed to monitor the Earth 24/7 through a number of orbiting satellites to better understand our living environment and the many challenges it faces, including the effect of climate change, natural disasters and biodiversity loss, among others,” he said in a speech.

Riviere said Filipinos may get a glimpse of how the study of the night sky and the position of stars and planets have had a huge impact on humans and the history of civilization.

“The study of the night sky and the position of stars and planets date back thousands of years,” he said.

“The onset of seasons and weather patterns are closely associated with the position of the Earth as it revolves around the Sun and their timing can be associated to the relative position of stars in the sky during the course of the calendar year,” he added.

Besides the telescope viewing, there wa s a l s o a l e c t u re o n t h e b a s i c s o f a s t ro n o my by a s t ro n o m e r s G i ova n n i Serritella, program manager for environment of the EU Delegation to the Philippines and astronomer, Prof. Jun Cajigal and Christopher Lu of the Manila Street Astronomers.

Questions were answered on how big the universe is, how many stars are out there and if there is life on other planets.

The study of astronomy has been an important development in the history of civilization and mathematics has been integral to the advancement of astronomical studies, the EU Delegation said in a news release.

The most famous invention that has contributed to the advancement of astronomy is a telescope that could magnify what can be seen by the naked eye in the night sky.

With the use of mathematics and telescopes, many discoveries have been made. Relatively recently, an integral organ was added to the body of amateur astronomy: the computer that allows vast amounts of information to be processed, allowing more advanced explorations and enabling astronomy to be grasped by even the inexperienced users.

Without computers, exoplanets (planets beyond our solar system) could not have been discovered. The origins of the Universe could not be adequately studied and asteroids and comets that are dangerous to us could not be monitored.

Today, astronomy and space science are closely associated under government agencies, the EU Delegation said. Programs such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Union’s Copernicus Earth’s observation program are particularly important.

The Hubble Space Telescope has allowed to view and to study the universe to a level of detail unimaginable before. The Copernicus program is part of the EU’s efforts to monitor the Earth from space to ensure that citizens from Europe and other regions are prepared and protected in the face of crises and natural or man-made disasters and to better understand our living environment and the many challenges it faces.

Thelma Gecolea, public affairs officer of the EU Delegation, said about 130 people participated in the event.

“With the success of the stargazing event, the EU Delegation is looking into holding [a] similar event early next year,” Gecolea said.

Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA

MMSU LAUDS BALIK SCIENTIST INTERVENTIONS ON ITS CLIMATE-CHANGE RESILIENCY PROGRAM

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HE Ilocos region is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as drought. To be resilient to the situation, the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) started its food-water-renewable energy self-sufficiency efforts and got a big boost through the guidance of Balik Scientist Guillermo A. Mendoza.

Mendoza first came to MMSU in 2010 as a Balik Scientist.Together with other Balik Scientists—Drs. Josefino C. Comiso, Catalino A. Blanche and Terry I. Sarigumba—Mendoza assisted in establishing the university’s baseline information that eventually led to the development and application of climatechange information systems for agriculture, forestry and natural resources.

These initial efforts helped propel MMSU as front-runner in climate change in the Ilocos region. The university now houses the Regional R&D Center for Climate Change Studies.

This year, MMSU re-engaged Mendoza to help enable the university in different dimensions of climate-change resiliency. This was done through trainings on suitability assessment for locating small farm reservoir, diversion dams and small water impoundments using various computational models, and on watershed hydrologic modelling.

MMSU President Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis also asked Mendoza to look into MMSU’s mapping of nipa plantations, in connection with a bioethanol project, which is an offshoot of another Balik Scientist engagement with Dr. Fiorello B. Abenes and Dr. Sergio C. Capareda.

In this activity, Mendoza assisted MMSU in obtaining high-resolution planet data from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through the coordination with the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.

Mendoza gave advice, as well as developed mapping protocol and sampling design, for the

field survey of nipa plantations using statistical tools, and joined in the actual field survey.

He recommended that MMSU pursue the establishment of Geomatics Center and proposed a web-based application of small-scale irrigation system in Ilocos region.

Agrupis said the Balik Scientist Program (BSP) greatly contributed in the development of MMSU. She said the university was able to receive more grants in renewable energy from the DOST, Department of Energy and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the DOST (DOSTPCAARRD) on climate change.

Likewise, the MMSU was able to network with various universities abroad because of the interventions made by the Balik Scientists.

“I am personally very satisfied with the contributions we made in this BSP stint. I am sincerely hopeful that the initiatives we started can be continued and brought to fruition,” Mendoza said during the recent Exit Report Presentation of his accomplishments at PCAARRD in Los Baños, Laguna.

“I can’t think of better way of spending my ‘retirement’ as emeritus professor of the University of Illinois than to be a Balik Scientist working with colleagues in the Philippines in advancing S&T in agriculture, forestry and natural resources,” he addeed.

BSP is being implemented by DOST-PCAARRD together with DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, which covers in the health industry, and the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development for engagements in the industry, energy, emerging technology and special concerns.

Michelle P. Caparas/S&T Media Services

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Sunday, June 23, 2019

A7

A WALK INTO BEIJING’S TIME WARPS

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Story & photos by Joshua Berida

MET a traveler who once told me, “if you haven’t been to Beijing, you haven’t been to China.” I’ve been to different parts of the country from Yunnan to Sichuan to Qinghai to Gansu and to others.

THE Great Wall is often synonymous with China, no surprise there because it is an iconic destination.

SLOW down and take a leisurely walk along the maze-like alleys of Beijing’s hutongs.

The capital wasn’t the first choice, I knew it was a big city with plenty to offer, but I postponed going anyway. However, it was inevitable, I had to visit Beijing and when I finally did, I discovered that it was a city that was both modern and ancient.

Link between the old and new

BEIJING exemplifies everything that is to say about a capital, a quick walk around reveals the city’s affluence: car dealers that offered the latest sports cars, a luxury hotel and several shops. But I’m looking for specific destinations within the city limits, so I made my way to the subway and boarded the train right away.

The Temple of Heaven is a sacrificial building that was a vestige of the Qing and Ming Dynasties. The complex is centuries old and displays of ancient religion, philosophy, culture and history.

Walking into the temples along with several other tourists and locals, I imagined walking with emperors and their officials as they went to the altar with their sacrificial animals, and prayed and worshipped for good weather and a bountiful harvest.

With these thoughts in mind, I was taken back to the present with clicking sounds,

tour guides’ lectures, people’s small talk. I left soon after.

That evening I headed out to see the Olympic Park and the Bird’s Nest immediately caught my eye from a distance. For lack of a better way to describe it, it really does look like a nest, thistles and all while it illuminated a reddish and yellowish light.

Standing a few meters was the Water Cube, or the National Aquatics Center. This gigantic building looked like bubbles strung together, a marvel in modern architecture.

I liked the fact that these are not just two relics of Olympic glory, but are now attractions, event venues and parks.

Gugong or the Forbidden City is a city within a city. Inside Beijing’s urban jungle, this ancient complex dates all the way back to the Ming Dynasty until the Qing Dynasty’s end, spanning almost 500 years of history.

The courts and rooms displayed the elaborate ceremonies and mundane activities the emperor does before showing himself to the public or handling state affairs. Imagine the hustle and bustle of scholars, ministers, servants, maids and concubines. Now fast forward to today, tourists and guides while modern day Beijing is filled with traffic, fast-food chains, skyscrapers and city lim-

THE Forbidden City never fails to attract droves of tourists throughout the year.

THE Temple of Heaven is one of the city’s most famous attractions.

its that extend beyond its ancient borders.

The Great Wall

WALKING up the Great Wall in Mutianyu was easier than I thought. This massive and long structure that stretches all the way to far west China was the line of defense against invaders. Now, it is nothing more than a tourist attraction. Ironically, instead of keeping people out, it has drawn them in, the wall being one of the most iconic landmarks in the country.

As I moved from one tower to the next, I can’t help but imagine the fierce battles that took place just below it. The wall section I walked has undergone extensive restoration, but I saw some battle scars on it. The serpentine wall, undulating with the rise and fall of the hills stretches as far as the eye could

see, is a proud testament of a country’s long and rich history.

Hutongs in the Big City

BEIJING is an ancient city, but now is a concrete jungle with a latticework of hutongs.

A hutong is a narrow street between courtyards that are just as old as the Forbidden City. These enclaves are like foreign lands amid the glitzy entertainment and shopping districts, skyscrapers and urban sprawl with a hint of the past despite their restored and commercialized state. Some are actual neighborhoods, with their worn walls, torn posters, missing shingles and smelly garbage, while others are designated attractions.

Traditional homes, whether really old or newly built, line the streets. Some are now

shops while others are hostels. Others are cafés offering Western or stalls selling the most exotic food on display (do locals really eat bugs and scorpions or is it a show for foreigners?), and kitschy souvenirs.

Within the hutongs, Beijingers are at their most honest. Bikes and cars are double parked, people come and go, clothes and underwear have been hung just outside doors or windows, mothers nurse their babies, workers sit down to drink tea, and friends congregate to gossip or outside their homes without pretensions at all.

Beijing is a city that has an old soul with a modern flair, It is a metropolis in every sense of the word dotted with intimate spaces and time warps to its traditions that makes it what it is today, a vibrant city ready that’s fast mapping a nation’s future.

Positioning the Philippines as global diving destination

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CHERRY blossoms

The most beautiful time in Taiwan

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LISHAN is an international well-known scenic spot. The sunrise, sea of clouds, divine tree, forest train plus the popular sakura and wisteria now all constitute the most beautiful season of Alishan. Traveling around Alishan National Scenic Area in spring is a good time whether for eating, drinking and playing.

Alishan National Scenic Area is wrapped by cloud all year in March and April every year. Yoshino cherry with light chalky white flower attracts numerous international tourists especially the Yoshino cherry in front of the Alishan Station.

The shape of the trees is cut beautifully and the flowers are outstanding even if it is over a hundred years old. A favorite spots of photographers and tourists.

Alishan National Scenic Area is the main travel area during the flower season. During the cherry blossom season from March 15 to April 10, more than 1,000 sakura trees are scattered around the area. Among them, the Yoshino cherry which only grows in cold climate areas, is mixed with Japanese breed yaezakura, Cerasus speciosa and special Taiwan cherry.

You can appreciate these flowering trees that extend

up to 2 kilometers from Chaoping Station to Alishan House. It is really a great time to enjoy and appreciate the beauty that these flowers bring.

Another route where you can appreciate these flowers is at Jueili Mountain area.

The very popular wisteria in Taiwan is mainly scattered at Jueili Village in Alishan National Scenic Area. There are a good number of homestays, and highmountain tea and coffee are also rich in the area. Both Alishan coffee and tea have unique flavors and are now the famous items as souvenirs.

Aside from these scenic spots, Alishan is known for its Tsou Tribe cooking.

Tsou Tribe is the indigenous people of Alishan.

The tribe specialty are slab stone BBQ, bamboo rice in bamboo, Magao Salad, Wasabi Tofu, Areca Flower Soup or Fried Areca Flower, River Shrimp and Pigeon Bean are all available at any restaurants or homestays around Tanayiku Valley.

Tourists may take the train to Chiayi Railway Station and transit to Chiayi Bus to Alishan. The earliest bus leaves at 6 a.m. and leaves at 5 p.m. every day.

HE Philippines is gaining popularity as one of the world’s best destinations for recreational and professional diving. To help further cement this reputation, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines, marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), continues to exhaust aggressive efforts in promoting the Philippines as a diving destination.

The TPB has successfully made its presence known in numerous international dive-related events, such as the Marine Diving Fair (MDF), the largest dive resort and consumer fair focused on scuba diving and travel overseas; Asia Dive Expo 2019 (Adex), the longest-running and largest dive expo in Asia; and Diving, Resort and Travel Expo Shanghai (DRT).

Held in Japan, the MDF had over 200 exhibiting companies from 50 countries and regions all over the world, including the Philippines which had one of the largest booths. Some 50,000 visitors, mostly diving enthusiasts, attended the fair.

At Adex, the Philippine representatives promoted the new and existing diving destinations in the country and also learned more about water sports in general from distinguished scientists, equipment manufacturers, marine conservationists, and underwater photographers and videographers.

The DRT in Shanghai had over 200 exhibitors and more than 40,000 participants. The Philippine participants showcased local diving products and conducted product presentations which included business-to-business (B2B) networking among Chinese dive counterparts.

As a result, the Philippine participants were able to learn more about the latest developments in water sports and strengthen ties with Japanese media, dive clubs and operators, and diving enthusiasts. Moreover, they were able to showcase Philippinediving products through product presentations and conduct B2B networking among regional counterparts in China.

CORAL reef diving

DIVING with butanding

PHILIPPINES offers rich aqua biodiversity for deep diving.

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 Sunday, June 23, 2019

Editor: Jun Lomibao | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

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OS ANGELES—Andrew Cancio gets up around 4 a.m. every weekday and goes for a pre-dawn run near his home in Oxnard. He drives 30 minutes to Simi Valley, changes into his uniform and starts his shift as a technician for the Southern California Gas Company at 6:30 a.m.

Cancio finishes work at 3 p.m., unless he gets overtime. The World Boxing Association’s (WBA) 130-pound champion then drives 30 minutes back to Oxnard and goes straight to the gym for a grueling two-and-a-half-hour training session.

“The days go by real quick,” Cancio said with a laugh on Tuesday.

A boxing champ with a full-time day job is a rare thing in the 21st century. Even in a sport without teams, unions and health insurance, nearly all elite fighters are devoted fully to their training, particularly in the weeks before a championship bout.

But three years after he nearly quit the sport for good, Cancio is determined to provide for his family while he fights on.

Cancio (20-4-2, 15 KOs) didn’t quit the gas company after he won his belt by stopping Alberto

BOXING CHAMP/ GAS TECHNICIAN Machado in February, and he plans to keep up his grueling 16-hour days of training and gas leak repairs after the rematch on Friday at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, outside Palm Springs. The card will be broadcast on DAZN. “It’s something that I have to do,” Cancio said. “I didn’t get the big signing bonus. I haven’t got the big paydays yet. I’ve had to work my whole life. Hopefully we just continue to win, and then maybe I’ll get the bigger paydays.”

Cancio’s $125,000 check for the rematch is a career best. He still worked for the gas company all last week and again Monday before taking vacation days for the rest of this week.

Cancio stunned the sport when he got up from a first-round knockdown and eventually stopped Machado (21-1), the rangy Puerto Rican talent who struggled to make the super featherweight limit. Cancio knocked down Machado three times with brutal body punches in the fourth round.

If Cancio repeats his performance in the rematch, he will get bigger opportunities in a sport that loves an underdog hero. But it still might not be enough to persuade him to give up the steady income and health insurance provided by the gas company.

“That’s hard to say,” Cancio said. “I’ve been there when boxing wasn’t working out and I didn’t have no money. Getting paid every other Friday is pretty good to me, and I’m able to train for a world title. Is it tiring? Yes. But I can do both.”

Cancio’s wife also works for the gas company, and her shift starts at 3 p.m. Cancio picks up his 7-year-old son at the YMCA on his way home from work and brings him to the gym almost every day, giving him a little father-son time that would otherwise be impossible.

WORLD Boxing AssociatioN 130-pound champion Andrew Cancio gets up around 4 a.m. every weekday and goes for a predawn run near his home in Oxnard balances training with his day job at a gas company. AP

Joseph Janik, Cancio’s veteran trainer in Oxnard, has worked with world champions before. He’s never had a champ with as much on his plate as Cancio, who puts in a physical shift at work before he hits the gym every afternoon.

“Some days he comes in and he’s been on the jackhammer for six hours, and he’s beat,” Janik said. “So we have to adjust the training. It’s definitely not ideal. I’d much rather if he got up and had a latte, did some Pilates and some cryo(therapy) and then came to the gym. But he likes it. He likes the guys that he works with. I think it helps keep him focused, and he appreciates his moments in boxing even more.”

Cancio actually quit boxing for 18 months after the only knockout loss of his career, and he trains with the hunger of a fighter with a renewed appreciation for his sport, Janik said.

Joseph Diaz stopped Cancio at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in September 2016 on the undercard of a Canelo Alvarez fight, and Cancio felt a frustrating finality in that defeat. He didn’t put on gloves again until 2018, when he only went to the gym to lose a little weight.

“My kids told me to get back in there, and it finally clicked,” said Cancio, who also has a 10-year-old daughter.

His interest rekindled, Cancio won two fights before capitalizing on his unlikely title shot as a 12-to-1 underdog against Machado.

Cancio will have plenty of support for this desert rematch: He is from Blythe, California, a border outpost between Palm Springs and Phoenix. Dozens of his gas company co-workers are also making the lengthy drive from Ventura County for the bout.

And when the rematch is over, win or lose, Cancio plans to go back to his daily fight with the jackhammer.

“I’m not stopping,” he said with a laugh. “Not now. I can do both.”

Kyrgios accuses officials of ‘rigging’ first round match at Queen’s Club

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ONDON—Nick Kyrgios swore at officials and accused them of “rigging” his first-round match at the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament in his latest outburst.

The outspoken Australian, who went on to win the match, launched an expletive-ridden rant at umpire Fergus Murphy after missing a set point against Roberto Carballes Baena, claiming his Spanish opponent had double-faulted.

After Murphy issued a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct, Kyrgios continued his tirade, saying “it’s a joke, man. It’s a serious joke” and adding: “Like, your hat looks ridiculous, also.

It’s not even sunny.”

After another point, Kyrgios said: “The ball was this far out on the second serve.

I’m going. I’m not going to give 100 percent

when I’ve got linesmen rigging the game, I don’t want to play.

“You wonder why I don’t try half the time.

Literally the set had finished, he double-faulted.

Why am I playing at 5-5? Absolute joke.”

Later in the match, Kyrgios then berated himself for hitting a poor lob to gift Carballes Baena a point and made reference to a computer game.

“So lazy, do something, so lazy you are,” he said to himself. “You were playing FIFA until 3 a.m., what do you expect?”

In the final game, Kyrgios—at 40-0 down— began returning from just outside the service line.

He still won 7-6 (4), 6-3.

But he lost his second-round match a few hours later, 6-7(4), 7-6 (3), 7-5 to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

THE outspoken Australian Nick Kyrgios launches an expletive-ridden rant at the umpire. AP

AP

RUI HACHIMURA hopes his success helps growth of Japan basketball. AP

HACHIMURA SETS HIGH GOALS IN NBA

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By Avery Yang The Associated Press

EW YORK—Rui Hachimura used to adore a manga and anime series called “Slam Dunk,” which followed a high school basketball team’s trials and tribulations and helped bring the sport into the Japanese consciousness.

Though Hachimura was born in Toyama Prefecture two years after the series ended in 1996, he was still profoundly influenced by its cultural impact.

So was Joji Sakamoto, his coach at Okuda Junior High who told Hachimura after his first practice that he was in for big things on the basketball court—in the United States.

“He pointed at me and said: ‘You’re going to the NBA [National Basketball Association],’” said Hachimura, the Gonzaga forward who is expected to be the first Japanese-born firstround pick, and just the third to play in the league. “At that time, I was stupid, I believed him. And he was for real, too. He was serious about it. And I really believed him. And I’m really here now. It’s crazy.”

Hachimura had never played basketball before meeting Sakamoto at age 13.

Sakamoto entered basketball due in large part to “Slam Dunk.” Hachimura’s teammates, too, were obsessed with the program years after its finale.

“The first wave of basketball in Japan was pushed forward by ‘Slam Dunk,’” said Dexter Thomas, a PhD candidate at Cornell University writing a dissertation on race in Japanese hip-hop and a correspondent on ‘Vice News Tonight.’“Rui Hachimura, if he succeeds, it’s going to be another level.”

Though basketball is not heavily followed in Japan, exceptional Japanese athletes are, regardless of the sport. So if Hachimura, the West Coast Conference player of the year and a potential lottery pick, is successful, it could help grow the game that figures to get a boost leading into the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

“He’s been huge for Japan,” said Gonzaga teammate Brandon Clarke, another projected first-round pick. “He’s just done so much for the country. The fact that he’s going to be drafted in the first round and probably a lottery pick (Thursday), it’ll be really big for the country.”

Hachimura was born to a Beninese father and Japanese mother. The 21-yearold said he faced racism as a child, but added that the perception that Japanese people are racist is generally overblown.

Though there are prominent hafus—the term in Japan used for a biracial person— across Japanese society, none has quite the background of Hachimura. “(Hachimura) doesn’t have somebody that he can point to and be like, ‘I look like him and I could be him.’” Thomas said.

“He doesn’t have that, but he could be that for somebody younger. I have a lot of friends who could’ve used someone like Hachimura growing up.”

That’s what Hachimura wants, to be a role model for, in his own words, “blackanese,” like him.

“The half-kids, mixed kids like me, there are a lot of half-black, half-Japanese, they play sports and they’re actually good at it,” Hachimura said. “I think it’s going to be great for them to see.”

Hachimura recognizes the national impact his success can have back home.

“It’s big for the country,” Hachimura said. “It’s big for Japan because we’ve never really had a player like me in Japan playing basketball in the NBA and stuff. It’s going to be big and it’s going to be a dream. It means a lot for me, my family, Japanese basketball—the whole country.” AP

Young CPAs count the secrets to topping accountancy board exams

By RIZAL RAOUL REYES

I

Contributor

T was a banner year for De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila when it dominated the May 2019 accountancy exams by bagging the No. 1 spot not only with one but with two Lasallians, namely, Josemaria Fontillas and Geraldine Jade Papa.

Fontillas and Papa shared with the BusinessMirror in an e-mail interview their thoughts on topping the board examination, plans and relevance of accounting in the country, among others.

BusinessMirror (BM): Did you always want to be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)?

Josemaria Fontillas (JF): I didn’t actually want to be a CPA right from the start.

What I really wanted up until now is to become a lawyer. Upon asking around which course was best to take up before law, being a CPA seemed to be the most resounding answer. Having that confirmed by my parents, I chose to have that as my undergraduate degree. I started wanting to become a lawyer by the age of 16.

Geraldine Papa (GP): When I was a kid, I dreamed of being a chef. When I was 12 years old, I was suddenly hit by the idea of becoming a CPA like my grandparents. My family never prodded me into it; I just wanted to be like them. Ever since sixth grade, I never changed my mind about taking up accountancy in college.

BM: Why accountancy?

JF: The broad scope that accountants cover was not something that I was aware of entering the BSA program. All I knew was that accountants were responsible for auditing financial statements of big companies, which I then knew was the value accountants had. Apparently it was much more than that because accountants are independent third parties ensuring that the public always knew what was happening within all the big organizations in the country. After all, accountants serving the public is already emphasized in the title itself: Certified Public Accountant. Using our knowledge, we promote transparency and integrity in all our dealings.

GERALDINE PAPA GP: Honestly, I didn’t know what accountants do when I decided to study to be one. As my years taking up Accountancy in DLSU passed, I realized the importance of our profession. We help build the society and economy by building trust among investors, businesses, the government and other people.

BM: Why DLSU?

JF: It was a simple choice. It was the time when DLSU usually bagged a 100-percent passing rate and a spot in the top-performing schools in the CPA board exam, so I went with DLSU. Also, my brother encouraged me to enter DLSU since he was already in the BSA program at the time, and my dad wanted me to take Accountancy there since he was a product of the DLSU BSA program.

I can say that the real edge that DLSU has over other schools are the professors and reviewers. They make the modular program possible, and even more than that, they’re composed of the best practitioners and have the best teaching methods out there. You can see that it’s really their passion and that they want all the students to be achievers.

GP: DLSU wasn’t my first choice. I didn’t come from a wealthy family and I knew the cost of studying in a premier university, but my mom insisted that I study there.

She worked hard just to get me through college. She believed that DLSU will open many doors for me. She was right. With its impressive board exam ratings and the

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feedback from employers, DLSU is the best place to take up Accountancy.

BM: What core values did you learn from school that are now helpful to you as a young professional?

JF: It would be resiliency. Accountancy is a difficult course and you may see yourself facing failure often. If you see any sign of failure and you start falling off, you might as well fail at that point; but if instead of falling behind, I’ve grown to see it as a challenge to work even harder. This is a value I think most students from our course have.

We’re okay with making mistakes so long as we learn from them and keep moving forward. We’re okay with fighting uphill battles and I’m sure we’ll bring the same tough and resilient attitudes into our work as professionals.

GP: DLSU’s core values of faith, service and community really made a big impact on my life. I learned to have faith not only in God, but also in myself and others. This faith allowed me to always look for the goodness in everyone, no matter how difficult they were. Learning the value of service also gave me purpose. It allowed me to be passionate about my profession, knowing that I can help people. Lastly, the sense of community made me want to belong. I used to be alone all the time, but now, I want to immerse myself in all that the world has to offer—to meet new people and to collaborate

JUNE 23, 2019

with them to make the world a better place (as cheesy as it may sound, it’s true. Hehe).

BM: How did you juggle all your tasks as a student?

JF: I always gave my best during accounting subjects and, more than that, I wanted to see what the University had to offer so I joined organizations. I think I was a wellbalanced student: I studied when I had to and still went out if there was an occasion; although I did prioritize my classes above all, and then worked on (assignments with) my different organizations. It was hard but I can say that it was worth it. I met a lot of people in those organizations and I managed to build relationships with a diverse group of people within the University and even from other schools.

GP: I dedicated myself to my studies and to my responsibilities as an officer of the Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants. On weekends, though, I try to spend time with family and friends. Planning my schedule helped me juggle everything that I needed to do.

BM: What is the most challenging aspect of being an accountancy student?

JF: Time management may be the hardest thing about being a student in the BSA proContinued on Page 7

BusinessMirror

MUSIC

PRINT

MARASIGAN AND OLIVARES

RAYMUND MARASIGAN

INSIDE HIS HOME STUDIO

F

Story and Photos

by Rick Olivares

IRST time I went inside the home studio-work place— “man cave” of Raymund Marasigan, it was a feast for the eyes.

For starters, it wasn’t a mess.

The magazines and books were neatly filed, the keyboards all in one area, the toys displayed on one shelf, and so on…

Surprisingly, there are no compact discs, vinyl records, cassettes, album awards or other similar audio paraphernalia. I thought it was more of a musician’s playground, with a pop culture and curio vibe.

During a visit last weekend

to continue a project we’ve been working on for a few months now, I asked him to name five things of interest and tell the stories behind them. Here they are, as the musician describes them:

Voltes V statue holding up a political slogan

“TOYM IMAO, offspring of brilliant national artists, is a good friend. Our daughters went to the

same elementary school, and are very close.

Last year he gave me a Voltes V figure that was part of a big exhibit in UP for Christmas. It is funny and rebellious. Imao is a brilliant artist who is hilarious, smart, and very political.” (“Rayms” happens to be a Voltes V fan, as well as his former bandmates in the Eraserheads— hence, the homage in the title of their debut album, “Ultraelectromagneticpop”).

The bat wings

“I MET this guy in one party at Shinji Tanaka’s. We were both in a drunken state, and this industrial engineer told me he wanted to make me something, anything.

And I was drunk and I said, “Make me bat wings that can move.”

I totally forgot it. And two Continued on page 6

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Sound BusinessMirror

JUNE 23, 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

MUS

YG BOWS OUT FROM HIS EN

by Sabah S. Themis BS Political Science, J.D. in Law, and LL.M. in International Law

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N June 14, the world witnessed the end of an era in K-pop history.

Yang Hyun Suk (YHS), the founder and main producer of YG Entertainment (YGE), announced his departure from the YG Family.

He founded the company back in 1996 and after more than two decades, the agency will no longer have “Mr. YG” in their midst.

Furthermore, on the heels of YHS’s announcement came a second statement, this time from CEO Yang Min Suk, as he also declared his departure from the YG agency.

The Yang brothers were the very lifeblood of the agency. Their stepping down marks the end of an era in K-pop.

YHS, a former member of the first generation K-pop legend Seo Taiji and The Boys, founded YGE with a dream: to create an agency for Korean rappers—a home where artists can grow and flourish.

He dedicated 23 years to his creation and nurtured each and every single group within.

YGE earned the reputation of allowing the largest artistic freedom within the K-pop industry. The production and artist management company boosted the value of creativity, encouraged outside-the-box thinking, promoted talent focused groups (not just based on their looks), emphasized powerful performances over synchronized dance routines, and produced hits with hip hop and freestyle Korean rap.

YG set trends, such as bright hair colors, song writing and selfproducing artists, among others.

Some of the biggest names in all K-pop history called the YG Family their home: groups like Jinusean, 1TYM, Seven, BigBang, 2NE1, Tablo, Epik High, Psy, Winner, iKon and Blackpink.

Dominating the industry

YG FAMILY, at the height of second-generation K-pop,

dominated the South Korean music industry. The release of the “Still Alive” album solidified BigBang as the best of the best.

They were on the top of their game and proved that they had staying power. Despite criticisms about their music and

style, the group had no interest in conforming to society’s idea of “K-pop norm,” and continued to be a revolutionary in their artistry.

BigBang, the “Kings of YG,” became known as “The Kings of K-pop.” There was no

second-generation group who created such a big cultural influence than these five men.

What they wore became an instant trend, their hair styles and looks were emulated, and they became cultural icons.

Every agency wanted to create

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soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | JUNE 23, 2019

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SIC ON PRINT

NTERTAINMENT COMPANY

a success like BigBang.

In true YG-style, the ladies of 2NE1 broke the conventions of what a girl group should be, what they should look like, and how they should sing. Unbothered by the constraints of popular K-pop culture, the lasses created

their own style (girl crush), their own image, and their own place as one of the greatest secondgeneration girl groups. They are “The Queens” of the YG Family.

Psy became the first K-pop artist to go viral globally. His song Gangnam Style broke the

YouTube record with 1 billion views on December 21, 2012.

By the end of 2012, that music video topped the charts of 30 countries worldwide, drawing attention of world political leaders. Leaders such as former US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron attempted the popular dance moves. Moreover, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the song “a force for world peace.”

YG debut their third generation K-pop artists such as Winner, iKon and BlackPink, respectively. They emulated the best characteristics of the previous generation while creating their own mark and identity. Winner and iKon learned and grew by following their sunbaes’ (seniors) footsteps.

Members of both bands became successful songwriters and producers in their own right.

By 2018 members of BigBang, iKon and Winner held the highest records of copyrighted music in South Korea.

Meanwhile, YG’s second girl group Blackpink proved to be a hit and stands front and center for best female K-pop act in South Korea.

On their departure, both Yangs left with a wish to preserve the YG Family legacy.

In his statement, YHS shared his heartfelt thoughts and said, “I’ve dedicated the past 23 years of my life to YG Entertainment.

The work of supporting the best music and the best artists was the greatest happiness for me. I have thought that this is the only ability I can contribute to fans and society.”

He added, cHowever, I will step down from all of my positions and work at YG starting today.

I sincerely hope that there is no further harm to the YG agency celebrities I love, and to the fans who love them, because of me.”

Scandals, suspicions

ONE after the other, numerous scandals hit YG like a storm. The final blow came just two days prior to YHS’s announcement on June 12. iKon’s leader Kim Han

Bin (B.I) declared on Instagram his wish to leave iKon and reflect.

In 2016 B.I allegedly attempted to purchase LSD and marijuana. Both him and YGE denied the allegations.

A complaint for investigation was submitted to the AntiCorruption and Civil Rights Commission.

On June 13 lawyer Bang revealed that the whistleblower, former K-pop trainee Han Seo Hee, claimed to have acted as a broker for buying drugs for B.I Further, she alleged that a third party from the group Winner contacted her, on behalf of B.I, and asked to meet. The report accused YHS of coercion and pressuring Hee to change her police testimony.

YHS’s resignation statement alluded to the allegations against him: “I have been patiently tolerating words about the current situation that are too disgraceful and humiliating to mention as they have been told indiscriminately as though they are the truth.”

In response to the drug allegations surrounding YGE, Min Gap Ryong, the Commissioner General of the Korea National Police Agency, declared: “We will thoroughly investigate the suspicions that were raised by forming an exclusive team that will be headed by the director of the detective division at Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency.”

With the plans for YGE leadership and the investigation still unknown, the future remains a mystery. The coming days and weeks will reveal the direction YGE is heading, and what fans may expect regarding the fates of their bias groups.

(On June 20, Hwang Bo Kyung was appointed as new CEO. She joined YGE in 2001 and held the positions of executive director and chief financial officer. She stated, “I feel [a] heavy responsibility and a sense of duty during this difficult time.

I will straighten out the basics in order for YG Entertainment to take a step forward.” Furthermore, YGE will launch a new business transformation committee.)

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JUNE 23, 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

Sound trip BusinessMirror

MUSIC ON PRINT

That industrial engineer is amazing!”

Custom-made acoustic guitar

“THE acoustic guitar is based on my brother’s six-string. He never took it up and I took it with me to college.

Since those days, I used it to write many songs. Up to this day, in fact.

The original guitar had nylon strings; this one uses steel. I designed the headstock and a few other things. I wanted it to be cheap and playable for many kids to pick it up. I actually gig with it during acoustic sets. It is well made by the D&D people.”

Fernando drum kit with Fruitcake star

Raymund...

from page 3

weeks later, he called me and said, “I have your bat wings!” He actually made them for me.

It isn’t Batman stuff, but

more of a manananggal thing.

During a Halloween MTV Awards Show (where Sandwich’s “Sugod” won), I wore it. If you jump up and down, the wings move and flap!

Just like a bat!

“THE drum kit is my signature set from the JB people.

The first ever [that I bought came from] Rogie Callejo of After Image. That kit was used in many of the shows of the

‘Heads.’ I gave it to Mike (Dizon of Sandwich and Pedicab) and he eventually converted it to a table that now sits in the office of Soupstar (the management group behind some of Rayms’ bands above-mentioned).

The JB people made me a custom four-piece kit. I started playing one because Marcus (Adoro) said, ‘You have to [learn] the other tomorrow, because it is more cool.’

As for the ‘starfish’ in the Fruitcake Star, the original design of Cynthia Arre had a guitar; this one had (drum) sticks on it.”

Keyboard collection

“LITTLE known fact is, I have a lot of keyboards because that was my first instrument. I have about at least 11. I have more keyboards than guitars. One of them is the keytar Juan Miguel Salvador (Rage Band) used to play on.

I was conscious about playing one before, but not anymore. I use it a lot for Pedicab.”

Young CPAs count the secrets to topping accountancy board exams JF: I’d want to let them know that it’s not impossible! It is difficult but we have our support systems behind us and our friends beside us. Just work hard, pray well and think positive! It all starts from yourself.

Find your center and the reason you’re motivated to go through the grueling classes and exams, and keep going back to that if you find yourself burnt out and tired. It’s all going to be worth it in the end!

GP: Remember that nothing that’s worth it ever comes easy. Success and struggle go hand in hand. But what’s more important than achieving the title of “CPA” is what you do with it once you have it.

Continued from Page 2

gram. Having such a loaded curriculum, the modular program, and having trimesters instead of semesters just emphasize this point. Definitely, it’s possible to thrive but doing so requires a level of discipline that not all fresh graduates from high school have. I think it requires the students to be more mature and disciplined faster than students from other courses just to survive the fast pace of the course.

GP: The most challenging aspect of being a BSA student, or a student in general, is discipline. It’s easy to make plans, to make a really great schedule. The hardest part is sticking to your plans, especially if it means foregoing things that you really want to do.

But, I knew that sacrifices were part of the journey, so I also knew that it will be worth it in the end.

BM: Why are CPAs important to the country in these times?

BM: How did you prepare for the board examinations?

JF: My main strategy in the exam was to make small steps every single day of the review. I wanted to do this consistently and patiently because I knew that the scope of the exam was so broad for just a few weeks of rush study sessions. My main routine was I attended review classes, went home, and then studied on my own. Besides that, I built on my style of studying by answering a challenging number of questions every day.

Some days I wouldn’t meet my quota, but some days I could. I guess it motivated me to always hit my target and to keep pushing it higher and higher as the exam drew nearer. All this, while still holding high the value of rest and health during the review.

Thankfully, I didn’t get sick much during the review due to exercising, a proper diet and quality rest every night.

GP: Compared to my study routine in college, I’d say I was more relaxed. When you’re reviewing for the board exam, you’re not studying new topics. These topics should have already been tackled in your undergraduate days. I focused more on my weaknesses, polishing my understanding of things. The greatest foe in any undertaking is fear, hence, aside from preparing myself intellectually, I really had to focus more on my physical, spiritual and emotional well-being.

BM: What was your reaction when you learned that you were in the top 10?

JF: It took time to sink in because I knew I had hoped to be a part of the top 10, but being the top 1 performer was only a fantasy before that. I didn’t want to believe the unofficial news I was hearing that time so it

JOSEMARIA FONTILLAS was a time I refused to believe them, until the actual results came and then I called my parents. I didn’t know what to do or how to react so I just told my family the news and kept talking to them. It took a day or two for the news to sink in, and then I just became happy at the results that all the hard work paid off. Although a big question then kept popping up in my head, which was: “What now?” since I dreamed of topping but I hadn’t thought of what to do after.

GP: Initially, I felt a mixture of disbelief and shock. I asked myself what I did to deserve it. After processing things, my heart was filled with nothing but gratitude. I realized that achieving such a feat is not just about me. I was able to achieve this because of everyone who helped me—God, my family, my professors and friends. This honor is theirs, just as much as it is mine.

BM: As a CPA, how is it different from student life?

JF: I think the biggest difference is the change between always having a right and a wrong answer. In school, there always was just a single right answer or a suggested answer, but I’ve come to realize that the world is different. There are a lot of answers, which can all be right or wrong. I think that’s what I’m going to have to adjust to. I have to accept that my way won’t be the only solution to a problem, but I have to be open to different solutions and opin-

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ions. Thankfully, there have been multiple classes in the University that have trained me to do just that. I’m also just excited to enter the work force and see what the world actually is outside the University.

GP: I haven’t started yet so I can’t really tell. But that just makes it more exciting!

BM: What would you like to accomplish as a CPA?

JF: Being a CPA is a service to the public and I do want to be just that. Technically, the clients are going to derive the benefit of the services of CPAs, but I do hope to promote transparency and honesty in all the work I do. It may just be a little and abstract thing, but all those little actions add up in the end in helping the public see what’s really happening behind big organizations in the country. I plan to do my part in society and hopefully inspire more people to share the same values as I have.

GP: I want to help in making Filipino CPAs recognized internationally. I want our profession to be looked upon with admiration and respect. I’m still not sure how I’m going to do that, though. But I also dream of becoming the next Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner or a chairperson of the Commission on Audit. A girl can dream, right? :)

BM: What message can you share with aspiring CPAs? JUNE 23, 2019

JF: From what I see right now, checks and balances are being overridden all over the country. From small organizations to even some of our high government offices, CPAs can actually promote the reinstatement of these procedures all over the country. We can help the masses from being cheated upon, especially since not all Filipinos are financially literate and knowledgeable of the law. Again, I think small steps and measures by CPAs all over the country add up and can eventually make a big impact on our country.

GP: If there’s one thing that accountants should do, it’s ensuring accountability.

With all the issues on graft and corruption, not only in government but also in private institutions, we need people with integrity now more than ever. It sounds scary…even I’m scared. But if nobody does, then who will?

BM: What are your hobbies and other interests?

JF: I enjoy exercising in general and engage in sports. I play football, basketball, and go boxing from time to time. These are my primary outlets whenever I feel overwhelmed by my studies. Besides playing, I also keep up with news on sports events and watch games if I find the time.

GP: I have a lot! I love cooking, baking and experimenting in the kitchen (frustrated chef). I also enjoy watching animé. I love watching old movies starring Audrey Hepburn. I love my three Boston terriers and I love walking. I’m obsessed with pandas.

I can eat raw, uncooked ampalaya. I have a collection of pain-relieving ointments and liniments (I know, I’m an old woman inside). I love the gym (which explains the liniment collection). I play the guitar and enjoy making covers of songs.

Singaporean logistics provider plunks P210M in PHL business

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INGAPOREBASED Ninja Logistics Pte. Ltd. announced on June 11 it will be investing heavily in its asset base of sorting hubs and company-owned trucks to strengthen its support for e-commerce businesses, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by the fourth quarter of 2019.

“Filipinos have been ranked highest in terms of social-media activity and Internet use globally,” Ninja Logistics’s Philippine Chief Operating Officer Vin Perez said.

“Increasing online engagement is likely to yield in more growth in e-commerce, and this gives us confidence to be aggressive in our investments through ensuring that our asset base is up to par with the rising demands of the market.”

Currently with 170 sorting hubs nationwide, Ninja Logistics, which operates the brand Ninja Van, committed to invest P105 million in 50 more sorting hubs, and another P105 million in 80 fuel-efficient, companyowned trucks to increase efficiencies in handling and transporting parcels.

NINJA Logistics Pte. Ltd. operates as a logistics company, provides next-day delivery and courier services to various locations in Singapore. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Singapore with locations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. This photo courtesy of Ninja Logistics shows the company’s van.

“Ninja Van enjoys a 95-percent reach of the Philippine population,” Perez was quoted in a statement as saying. “As we continuously cater to e-commerce businesses, our next step is to densify our presence all over the country, especially in the most populous areas like Metro Manila and Central Visayas, to ultimately speed up delivery times.”

An internal Ninja Van survey conducted in the first quarter of 2019 revealed that 70 percent of Philippine-based sellers identified delivery speed as their main challenge in conducting business.

“Providing top-notch customer expe-

8 BusinessMirror

rience is at the heart of everything we do at Ninja Van,” said Martin Cu, Ninja Van Philippines country head. “By investing in these assets, we ensure responsiveness to the concerns of both online sellers and shoppers, and cement our position to become the country’s most reliable express logistics service provider.”

Ninja Logistics, a company cofounded by 29-year-old Tan Bo Xian, launched its local operations three years ago. Since 2016, Ninja Van has become the fastest-growing express logistics service in the country, and has expanded to a fleet of over 8,000 riders serving e-commerce players, the company said.

JUNE 23, 2019

Wealthy Americans say financial worries hurt their mental health

EVEN relatively wealthy Americans are so worried about their finances that it’s affecting their mental and physical health.

That’s one of the findings in a Bank of America Corp. survey of more than 1,000 people in the US who have enough investable money to qualify as “mass affluent.” Financial concerns affected the mental health of 59 percent of respondents, while 56 percent said their physical health has been hurt. Younger people, in the millennial and Generation Z age brackets, reported a bigger impact from money matters than their Gen X and baby boomer counterparts.

Financial awareness is rising among young people because of social media, and that can make them savvier about money matters -- and more stressed out, said Aron Levine, head of consumer banking and investments at Bank of America.

“How do I pay off my debt, I really want to buy a home, I still want to take a vacation, I’ve got to deal with potentially aging parents—and then forget about retirement, I don’t even know how to think about that,” Levine said in an interview, citing some major financial concerns people face. “That’s a very daunting task.”

Despite the prevalence of money worries, 44 percent of Gen Zers and 48 percent of millennials say they believe they’ll be millionaires one day.

Here are some of the survey’s other findings: • Many Americans are trying to bolster their financial standing, with 45 percent of respondents saying they’re working to improve their credit score, 43 percent trying to pay down their credit-card debt and 35 percent establishing an emergency fund.

• They’re also holding off on big expenses to pay down debt, with 43 percent forgoing a vacation, 37 percent putting off a car purchase, 30 percent delaying homebuying and 19 percent waiting to have children.

• Consumers report using apps to help save and manage money, with 71 percent of respondents using them for consumer banking, 65 percent for money transfers, 63 percent for managing personal finances and 57 percent for automated investment.

Gen Z respondents in the online survey, conducted from April 17 to May 9, had investable assets of $50,000 to $250,000, or investable assets of $20,000 to $50,000 and annual income of at least $50,000.

For those 24 or older, respondents had investable assets of $50,000 to $250,000. Bloomberg News